Billet manipulating unit

ABSTRACT

A billet manipulating unit adapted, in conjunction with similar units, to receive therein an elongated steel billet which is rectangular in transverse cross section, and the width of which is appreciably greater than its thickness and, by the manipulative action of two cooperating pivoted billet-engaging arms, to impart varying increments of unidirectional turning movement to the billet in order to present selected side surfaces of corner edges thereof to a grinding wheel for conditioning purposes.

United States Patent Kazuba March 6, 1973 1 BILLET MANIPULATING UNIT3,506,141 4/1970 Thomas ..214/1 06 Inventor: Robert J. Kazuba g In.3,610,439 10/1971 Hopkins "214/1 QG [73] Assignee: PettiboneCorporation, Chicago, 111. Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza AssistantExaminer-Frank E. Werner [22] Ffled' July 1971 Attorney-Norman 1-1.Gerlach [21] Appl.No.: 165,268

[57] ABSTRACT 52 US. Cl. ..21'4/1 QG A billet manipulating adapted, inCOHJ'lmction 511 1n1.c|.....' ..B6Sg 7/00 with Similar receive thereinelmgated steel [58] Field of searchumzl 4/} Q 1 Q A l 06 130 R billetwhich is rectangular in transverse cross section, 211/130 and the widthof which is appreciably greater than its thickness and, by themanipulative action of two [56] References Cited cooperating pivotedbillet-engaging arms, to impart varying increments of unidirectionalturning move- UNITED STATES PATENTS ment to the billet in order topresent selected side surfaces of corner edges thereof to a grindingwheel for RhOadS ..2 QG purposes 3,182,815 5/1965 DiLella et a1. ..214/1QG 3,428,199 Rhoads ..214/l QG X 7 Claims, 15 Drawing FiguresPATEHTEDHAR 19 Y 3,719,286

'snmlorz I NVEN TOR. ROBERT J. KASZUBA Atty.

PATENTEU 6 I I 3,719,286

SHEET-2W2 INVENTOR. ROBERT J. KASZUBA WM a Affy.

BILLET MANIPULATING UNIT The present invention relates generally tobillet handling or manipulating apparatus and has particular referenceto a novel billet manipulating unit which, when used in conjunction withone or more similar units, serves to support an elongated steel billetof rectangular cross section in operative relationship with respect to apower-driven grinding wheel in order to obtain by way of the wheelselective conditioning of the four side surfaces or the four corneredges of the billet.

The billet manipulating unit of the present invention is similar in manyrespects to the particular billet manipulating unit which is shown anddescribed in copending U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,263, granted on Aug. 24, 1971and entitled Billet Handling Apparatus. The present manipulating unitis, however, an improvement over the earlier unit in that it is capableof effectively manipulating steel billets which are of elongatedrectangular cross section, which is to say that their width isappreciably greater than their thickness. Both the earlier manipulatingunit and the present manipulatin g unit are predicated upon the use of aframe structure having in the upper region thereof an open upwardlypresented billet-receiving trough which receives the billet therein,together with a pair of billet manipulating arms which are pivoted tothe frame structure for swinging movements'about respective horizontalaxes. In both the earlier and the present manipulating unit, one of thetwo arms constitutes a billet supporting arm and the other constitutes abillet clamping arm. By various and selective manipulations of the twoarms, either simultaneously or individually, a billet which rests in thetrough may be lifted from the trough by the billet supporting arm,clamped between such arm and the billet clamping arm for grindingpurposes, released by both arms, and finally allowed to fall back intothe trough by a tumbling action wherein an increment of 90 turningmovement is imparted to the billet so that its new trough-supportedposition is 90 removed from its original position in the trough. Areptition of the billet lifting and billet clamping operation by the twomanipulating arms serves to present a fresh side surface to the grindingwheel for billet conditioning purposes. Two additional and identicalquarter-cycles of billet manipulation serve to complete the conditioningof all four sides of the billet.

The present billet manipulating unit is designed as an improvement overthe earlier billet manipulating unit of aforementioned U.S. Pat. No.3,601,263 in that whereas the earlier unit is incapable ofsatisfactorily handling billets which are other than square intransverse cross section, the present unit is capable of handlingbillets in which the width thereof is appreciably greater than itsthickness. Although the basic tumbling principle which is involved ineffecting incremental turning movement of the billet to be conditionedby the associated grinding wheel remains substantially the same, thecontour of the framework trough which initially receives the billet andthe shape of the two billet manipulating arms are modified for propercooperation with the trough so that a wide variety of rectangular crosssectional billet shapes may be accommodated. One of the more importantimprovements of the present billet manipulating unit over the earlierunit resides in the provision of cooperating clamping shoulders on thetrough sides and on one of the manipulating arms so that, in certainpositions of the billet, the latter is clamped against the framework,whereas in the earlier billet manipulating unit, all billet clampingoperations take place only between the two manipulating arms themselves.

The provision of an improved billet manipulating unit such as hasbriefly been outlined above constitutes the principal object of thepresent invention. Other objects and advantages of the invention, not atthis time enumerated, will become readily apparent as the nature of theinvention is better understood from a consideration of the followingdetailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which arehereinafter set forth and are more particularly described by the claimsat the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of thisspecification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a pair of cooperating billetmanipulating units embodying the principles of the present invention,such view showing the two units in one of several billet clampingpositions of which they are capable of assuming;

FIG. la is a diagrammatic reference view of a rectangular billet whichis capable of manipulation by the present manipulating unit and to whichcertain lower case letter designations have been applied to designatethe various side surfaces and comer edges of the billet;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of one of the billet manipulating units ofFIG. 1, such view showing the unit in its initial billet-receivingposition;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the billetraised preparatory to clamping thereof for grinding purposes;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the billet in a first clampedposition and undergoing grinding on one side thereof;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the billet in a stable but unclampedposition and while undergoing grinding on one comer edge thereof;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the billet in a second clampedposition and undergoing grinding on a second side thereof;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the billet in a stable but unclampedposition and undergoing grinding on a second comer edge thereof;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the billet in aclamped position and undergoing on a third side thereof;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the billet in astable but unclamped position and undergoing grinding on a third corneredge thereof;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the billet ina clamped position and undergoing grinding on a fourth side thereof;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the billet ina stable but unclamped position and showing the same undergoing grindingon a fourth corner edge thereof;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the billet in a raised and clampedposition preparatory to ejection of the same from the manipulating unit;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the billet in its raised andunclamped position immediately prior to ejection thereof from the unit;and

FIG. 14 is a schematic view illustrating the billet undergoing ejectionfrom the unit.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, abillet manipulating apparatus embodying two of the manipulating units ofthe present invention is designated in its entirety by the referencenumeral 10, the individual units 12 being mounted on a common basemember 14. The illustration of FIG. 1 is purely an exemplary one and theapparatus may be used in a wide variety of environments. It is thepurpose of the manipulating units 12 to support therebetween a billetsuch as the billet B, portions of which are shown in dotted lines inFIG. 1, and by a sequence of manipulations, progressively impartincrements of counterclockwise rotation or turning to the billet so asto cause different sides and edges of the same to be presented upwardlyfor cooperation with a rotary, power-driven grinding wheel such as isshown in full lines in FIG. 1 and designated by the reference numeral G,the grinding wheel traversing the billet B in the usual manner ofsurface conditioning a steel billet at a grinding station. Theenvironmental aspects of the apparatus 10 form no part of the presentinvention and the base member 14 may, if desired, be a fixed memberwhich is disposed directly at a grinding station where there aresuccessively conditioned billets which are capable of endwise movement,the grinding wheel G traversing the billet undergoing conditioning in alongitudinal direction and operating upon whatever side or edge of thebillet is presented upwardly. Alternatively, the base member 14 mayconstitute the deck or platform of a manipulating car which travels onrails so that the billet B may be loaded onto the manipulating units 12at a location remote from the grinding station and, thereafter, themanipulating car caused to travel on the rails so as to shift the billetendwise into the grinding station, after which back and forth endwisemovement of the manipulating car at the grinding station will cause thebillet to traverse the grinding wheel.

The billet B of FIG. 1 of the drawings is a relatively short billet and,therefore, it is capable of being handled by only two of themanipulating units 12. Where a longer and, consequently, heavier billetis to undergo treatment or conditioning, a greater number of such unitswill be employed, the various units being suitably spaced apart on thebase member 14. The particular number of units which are employed is notso much a function of the length of the billet as it is of the weight ofthe billet, the output or lifting functions of each unit being of alimited nature inasmuch as each unit is hydraulically operable under thecontrol of relatively small piston and cylinder devices in a manner thatwill be described in detail presently.

The manipulating units 12 in handling billets which are of non-uniformrectangular configuration in transverse cross section are capable ofmanipulating a billet having a width which is appreciably greater thanits thickness. Accordingly, the particular billet B which is selectedfor illustration herein is of such a nature and, in order that thesequence of positions which this billet assumes during treatment thereofby the two units 12 may be adequately described in connection with thedisclosures of FIGS. 2 to 14, inclusive, the various side and cornerregions of the billet have been given lower case designations a, b, c,d, e, f, g and h in FIG. 1a, the designations a, c, e, and grepresenting the four side surfaces of the billet B and the designationsb, d, f and h representing the four comer edges of said billet. Thearrow in FIG. 1a is provided in order to render a quick visualization ofthe particular position of the billet B as it progresses from an initialposition of presentation at the time it is received by the manipulatingunits 12.

Insofar as the loading of the billets, one at a time and successively,onto the manipulating units 12 is concerned, the billets may be placedthereon by means of a fork truck (not shown) or the like, or if desired,the billets may be received from the discharge end of a steel millcharge table, a suitable billet transfer arm of the type which is shownand described in the aforementioned copending patent application Ser.No. 868,998 being employed to effect successive transfer of the billetsfrom the charge table to the units 12. Irrespective, however, of theparticular manner in which the billets are operatively loaded orpositioned on the manipulating units 12 of the apparatus 10, the mode ofoperation of such units remains substantially the same.

Inasmuch as the two illustrated manipulating units 12 are identical inconstruction, a description of one of them will suffice for them both.Each billet manipulating unit 12 involves in its general organization aframework or casing including a pair of side plates 20 which projectupwardly from the base member 14 in spaced parallelism and between whichthere is provided a pair of billet manipulating arms 22 and 24. The arm22 functions largely as a billet lifting and supporting arm while thearm 24 functions largely as a billet clamping arm and, accordingly,these two arms will hereinafter be referred to, respectively, as thebillet supporting arm and the billet clamping arm. As will be made clearsubsequently, the billet clamping arm 24 also performs a billet-ejectingfunction at the end of one complete billet handling cycle of operation.

The two side plate 20 of the casing are substantially identical inconstruction, such plates being generally rectangular in outline andhaving their upper edge regions relieved with the two relief areasdefining a composite billet-receiving trough 26. The latter has regularand irregular side walls as will be described 'subsequently, and thesecooperate with the manipulating arms 22 and 24 in a particular mannerfor billet supporting and tumbling purposes.

The billet supporting arm 22 is of a composite nature and is comprisedof two parallel side pieces 28 (see FIG. 1) which have their proximateends pivoted by means of respective horizontally extending pins 30 tothe side plates 20, the pins being disposed adjacent to the upperleft-hand corners of these plates and substantially at the level of theupper open side of the trough 26. The two side pieces 28 are securedtogether by means of a filler block 32 which extends across and betweenthe distal ends thereof and may be welded in position. The clamping arm24 is pivoted adjacent to its proximate end on a horizontally extendingpin 34 which extends between the two side plates 20 and is disposedbelow the trough 26.

The two side pieces 28 of the billet supporting arm 22 definetherebetween, in effect, a longitudinal slot 36, and the distal endregion of the billet clamping arm 24 projects into this slot andtraverses the same during the various relative movements of which thetwo arms are capable. The outer or distal ends of the two side pieces 28of the billet supporting arm 22 are provided with upwardly extendingprotuberances 38, the two protuberances, in combination with each other,defining a composite divided billet-clamping shoulder 40 which isdesigned for clamping cooperation with an opposed clamping shoulder42,the latter being provided adjacent to the distal end of the clampingarm 24.

Immediately inwards of or below the clamping shoulder 42 on the clampingarm 24 there is provided a billet-supporting shoulder 44 and a slightdistance inwards or below the latter shoulder there is provided arounded, hump-like clamping protuberance 46(see FIG. 5) which isdesigned for cooperation with one of the walls of the billet-receivingtrough 26 in clamping the billet B therebetween during certain portionsof the billet-m anipulating cycle as will be described presently.

Considering now the nature of the billet-receiving trough 26, it beingrecalled that this trough is of a composite nature and consists ofidentical relief areas in the upper edges of the two side plates 20, thetrough is generally of V-shape configuration and includes a linearlystraight, inwardly and downwardly inclined left-hand side wall 50 theslant angle of which with respect to a horizontal plane is on the orderof 45, and an irregularly shaped righthand side wall the lower portion52 of which extends upwardly and outwardly from the bottom of the trough26 at a slant angle on the order of 45 as best seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.The upper end of the lower portion 52 of the right-hand side wall of thetrough 26 meets with a horizontal billet-supporting ledge-like shoulder54 which, in turn, meets with the lower end of a vertical portion 56,the latter being the upper portion of said right-hand side wall. As bestseen in FIG. 2, the upper end of the vertical portion 56 meets with ahorizontal ledge 58 and the latter meets with a downwardly slantingbillet-discharge surface 60 having a slant angle on the order of 30.This billetdischarge surface is provided along the upper edges of a pairof overhanging wing portions 62 which are associated with and form partsof the upper right-hand corners of the side plates 20.

It will be understood that the foregoing description of the shape of thetrough 26 is based on a treatment of the trough as a composite unitwhich exists by reason of identical relief areas being formed in theupper edges or margins of the two side plates 20, the various troughportions 50, 52 and 56, as well as the ledge-like shoulder 54, thebillet-supporting ledge 58 and the discharge surface 60, existing byreason of identical edge regions which are provided on the two sideplates.

The billet supporting arm 22 is operable under the control of a cylinderand piston device 64, one end of which is pivotally mounted on ahorizontally extending pin 66 which is carried by the side plates of thecasing and the other end of which is pivoted on a horizontally extendingpin 68 which is carried by medial portions of the side pieces 28 of thecomposite billet supporting arm 22. The billet clamping arm 24 issimilarly operable under the control of a cylinder and piston device 70which is similarly secured to horizontally extending pins 72 and 74 onthe side plates 20 and the arm 24, respectively. The two cylinder andpiston devices 64 and are disposed within the narrow space which existsbetween the two side plates 20, the device 64 being disposed above thedevice 70. Said cylinder and piston devices 64 and 70 preferably arehydraulically operated and are adapted to be selectively actuated underthe control of a suitable arrangement of solenoid-actuated or otherdirectional valves (not shown), such valves being included in the billethandling system (also not shown) with which the manipulating units 12are associated.

In the operation of each manipulating unit prior to reception of thebillet B within the trough 26 (see FIG. 2) the two manipulating arms 22and 24 assume retracted positions wherein they lie substantially belowthe level of the trough with no portion thereof obstructing freeentrance of a billet into said trough 26. Assuming now that the billet Bhas been deposited in the trough 26, either by the use of a suitablelift truck or by the use of a transfer arm in associated relation with acharge table, such billet will assume the completely seated position inwhich it is shown in FIG. 2 with the side a thereof facing upwards (seeFIG. 1a) and the side e resting on the left-hand side wall 50 of thetrough. It is to be noted at this point that because the schematicrepresentation of the billet .B in FIG. la, which, as previously stated,embodies lower case letter designations for the various sides and corneredges of the billet, is coupled with a directional arrow designation,the various sides and corner edges of the billet B in FIGS. 2 to 14,inclusive, are readily recognizeable simply by their positional relationto the arrow designation. Therefore, in these views, and in order toavoid needlessletter-crowding in the drawings, lower case letterdesignations are applied only to such surfaces or corner edges of thebillet as actually are undergoing grinding and, consequently, are ingrinding contact with the grinding wheel G.

After the billet B has been deposited in the trough 26 as previouslydescribed in connection with FIG. 2, the cylinder and piston device70 isactuated to swing the billet supporting arm 22 in a counterclockwisedirection and thus raise the billet B to the position wherein it isshown in FIG. 3 with its side a presented upwardly and with its side cdirectly opposing the now vertical billet-clamping shoulder 40 which isformed on the protuberances 38. After this operation, the cylinder andpiston device 62 is actuated to swing the billet clamping arm 24 in aclockwise direction and, in so moving, it pushes the billet B againstthe shoulder 40 as shown in FIG. 4 so that the billet is securelyclamped between the clamping shoulders 40 and 42 of the arms 22 and 24and in a fixed grinding position wherein the side a of the billet B ispresented to the grinding wheel G.

After the side a of the billet B has been properly con ditioned by thegrinding wheel G, the billet supporting arm 22 and the billet clampingarm 24 are both swung toward their respective retracted positions inorder to release the billet B which, because of the fact that the corneredge d at this time overhangs the ledge-like shoulder 54, then tumbles,so to speak, in a counterclockwise direction and falls to the stableposition wherein it is shown in FIG. 5 with the corner edge b presentedupwardly to the grinding wheel G for grinding of such edge. Although thebillet B at this time is supported on the narrow side 3 thereof, withthis side moreover resting on an inclined surface of the billetsupporting arm 22, the stability of the billet B is appreciable sincethe side e of the billet rests against the wing portions 62, while thecorner edge h bears against the billet clamping arm 24 which assumes anintermediate position.

After the corner edge b has been conditioned by grinding thereof withthe grinding wheel G, the billet clamping arm 24 is actuated so that itswings in a clockwise direction and causes the billet B to assume theposition wherein it is shown in FIG. 6 with the sides e and a clampedagainst and between the upper vertical portion 56 of the right-hand sideof the trough 26 and the hump-like protuberance 46 of the billetclamping arm 24, and with the corner f of the billet seated on theledge-like shoulder 54. In this position, the billet B is securelyclamped for surface grinding of the side 0.

Progression of the billet B from the position in which it is shown inFIG. 6 to the unclamped but stable position in which it is shown in FIG.7 for grinding of the corner edge d is effected by causing both arms 22and 24 to be returned to their fully retracted positions in order torelease the billet B, whereupon the billet will undergo acounterclockwise tumbling operation by reason of the fact that itscorner edge f, at the time of billet release, rests on the ledge-likeshoulder 54, thereby rendering the billet unstable. The billet B willcome to rest with its side a supported on the left-hand side wall 50 ofthe trough26 and its corner edge d presented upwardly for grindingpurposes. The necessary stability of the billet B for grinding of thecomer edge d is attained by reason of the fact that the comer edge h ofthe billet is seated in the extreme bottom of the trough 26 between thejuncture of the left-hand side 50 and the lower portion 52 of theright-hand trough side.

After the corner edge d has been conditioned by subjecting it to theaction of the grinding wheel G, movement of the billet to the positionshown in FIG. 8 for surface grinding of the side e is effected bycausing the billet supporting arm 22 to be raised to a substantiallyhorizontal position while at the same time causing the billet clampingarm 24 to be swing in a clockwise direction, thus raising the billet Band causing the sides 3 and c to be clamped between the vertical upperportion 56 of the right-hand side of the trough 26 and hump-likeprotuberance 46 of the billet clamping arm 24, the corner h of thebillet now overlying the ledgelike shoulder 54 of the trough 26 and thecorner edge I: overlying the billet-supporting shoulder 44 on'the billetclamping arm 22.

The billet manipulations which take place under the control of themanipulating arms 22 and 24 in shifting the billet B from the positionshown in FIG. 8 to the position shown in FIG. 9 in order to present thecorner edge f to the grinding wheel G are substantially the same asthose previously described in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5, the billetB tumbling from the ledge-like shoulder 54 in a counterclockwisedirection as soon as the billet supporting arm 22 is lowered and thebillet coming to rest with its sides and a bearing against thesupporting arm 22 and the inner upper comers overhanging wing portions62. This position of the billet B which is illustrated in FIG. 9 issufficiently stable to enable the comer edge f to be operated upon orconditioned by the grinding wheel G.

The manipulations of the arms 22 and 24 necessary to bring the billet Bfrom the position of FIG. 9 to the position of FIG. 10 for grinding ofthe side g are substantially the same as those described in connectionwith FIGS. 5 and 6, the billet clamping arm 24 swinging in a clockwisedirection and causing the sides e and a of the billet to be clampedbetween the hump-like protuberance 46 and the vertical portion 56 of therighthand side of the trough 26 with the corner edge b of the billetoverlying the ledge-like shoulder 54.

Similarly, the manipulations which are required to shift the billet Bfrom the position of FIG. 10 to the position of FIG. I l for grinding ofthe corner edge h are the same as illustrated and described inconnection with the disclosures of FIGS. 6 and 7, retraction of thebillet clamping arm 24 serving to cause the billet B to tumble in acounterclockwise direction from the ledgelike shoulder 54 to a positionwherein the side e of the billet rests on the left-hand side 50 of thetrough 26 and the corner edge d is seated at the extreme bottom of thetrough 26 between the left-hand trough side 50 and the lower portion 52of the right-hand trough side.

After the corner edge h has been conditioned by proper use of thegrinding wheel G, the billet B is ready for ejection and, accordingly,the billet supporting arm 22 is raised by swinging the same in acounterclockwise direction until it assumes the position wherein it isshown in FIG. 12. In such position of the arm 22, the billet B is raisedto a level slightly above that of the horizontal ledge 58, after whichthe billet clamping arm 24 swings in a clockwise direction as indicatedin both FIGS. 12 and 13, thus sliding the'billet B over and past theledge 58 until it moves onto the inclined billetdischarge surface 60 ofthe wing portions 62 as shown in FIG. 14, from whence it may bedischarged by gravity onto a conveyor or the like.

It will be understood that although, in the foregoing description, theoperation of the billet manipulating apparatus 10 and its associatedmanipulating units 12 has been set forth to illustrate the manipulatingfunctions which take place in presenting all four sides and all fourcomers of the billet B to the grinding wheel G, it is not frequent thatevery position described will result in a grinding operation. Rarelydoes a billet require edge grinding and, more often than not, there willbe no pause in the movement of the manipulating arms 22 and 24 as theypass through the positions shown in FlGS.5,7,9and11.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore,only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in theaccompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by letters patent is:

1. A billet manipulating unit for supporting and imparting increments ofrotational movement to an elongated steel billet or the like which is ofelongated rectangularshape in transverse cross section, said unitcomprising a casing defining an upwardly presented generally Veshapedtrough having downwardly and inwardly sloping sides, one of said sidesbeing interrupted by a horizontal ledge-like shoulder and a verticalclamping portion immediately thereabove, a linearly straight billetsupporting arm pivoted at its proximate end to said casing at a regionadjacent to the upper region of said trough for swinging movement abouta horizontal axis which is disposed adjacent to the uppermost level ofthe trough, a linearly straight billet clamping arm pivoted at itsproximate end to said casing at a region below the lowermost level ofsaid trough for swinging movement about a horizontal axis, saidbilletsupporting arm being provided with a longitudinally extending slottherein and said billet clamping arm normally projecting through saidslot, said arms being individually movable between normally retractedpositions wherein they underlie the trough and actuated advancedpositions wherein they intersect the trough, said billet supporting armbeing operable upon actuating thereof to engage and raise the billet inthe trough to a level slightly above the level of said horizontalshoulder, said billet clamping arm being operable upon actuation thereofto engage the thus raised billet and clamp the same in a grindingposition against said vertical clamping portion of said one side of thetrough above said ledge-like shoulder, and means for selectivelyactuating said arms said means comprising a cylinder and plunger devicefor each arm, each device having one end pivotally connected to itsrespective arm at a point medially of its ends, and having its other endpivoted to the casing at a point below the level of the said trough.

2. A billet manipulating unit for supporting and imparting increments ofrotational movement to an elongated steel billet or the like which is ofelongated rectangular shape in transverse'cross section so as to presentbroad and narrow sides, said unit comprising a casing defining anupwardly presented generally V- shaped trough at its upper end forreception of the billet, said trough having downwardly and inwardlysloping sides, one of said sides being interrupted by a horizontalledge-like shoulder and a vertical clamping portion immediatelythereabove, a billet supporting arm pivoted to said casing for swingingmovement about a horizontal axis which is disposed adjacent to theuppermost level of the trough, a clamping protuberance on the distal endof said supporting arm, a billet clamping arm pivoted to said casing forswinging movement about a horizontal axis which is disposed below thelowermost level of the trough, said arms being individually movablebetween normally retracted positions wherein they underlie the troughand fully actu ated advanced positions wherein they intersect thetrough, said billet supporting arm being operable upon a first fullactuation to engage and raise a billet above the level of said trough,said clamping arm being operable upon a first actuation to engage thethus raised billet and slide the same on said supporting arm and againstsaid protuberance in a first clamped broad side grinding position with acorner edge region of the billet overlying an edge of the trough, saidarms being effective upon partial retraction thereof to cause the billetto fall by gravity from said trough edge into said trough and rest onsaid supporting arm and against the clamping arm in a second and comeredge grinding position,

said clamping arm being operable upon a second actuation to engage thethus supported billet and project the same to a third clamped narrowside grinding position against said vertical clamping portion with acorner edge region of the billet overlying said horizontal ledgelikeshoulder, said arms being effective upon full retraction thereof tocause the billet to fall by gravity from said ledge-like shoulder intothe bottom region of the trough and against the other inwardly slopingtrough side in a fourth grinding position.

3. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 2 and wherein saidclamping arm is provided at its distal end with a flat billet clampingshoulder which is engageable with the billet when the latter is in itsfirst and broad side clamped grinding position, and a hump-like clampingprotuberance immediately below said latter clamping shoulder which isengageable with a broad side of the billet when the latter is in itsthird and narrow side clamped grinding position.

4. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 3 and wherein saidclamping arm is provided with a ledge-like billet supporting shoulderimmediately above said hump-like protuberance and immediately below saidlatter clamping shoulder.

5. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 4 and wherein saidcasing includes a pair of vertically disposed side plates between whichsaid arms are disposed, one of said arms is formed with a longitudinalslot therein, and the otherarm projects through and is operable in saidslot.

6. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 5 and wherein saidslot is provided in the billet supporting arm.

7. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 6 and wherein whenthe billet is in its broad side clamping position and the billetsupporting arm is thereafter retracted and the billet clamping arm isfully actuated, the flat billet clamping shoulder at the distal endthereof impels the billet by a sliding action completely over said edgeof the trough to a region of discharge.

1. A billet manipulating unit for supporting and imparting increments ofrotational movement to an elongated steel billet or the like which is ofelongated rectangular shape in transverse cross section, said unitcomprising a casing defining an upwardly presented generally V-shapedtrough having downwardly and inwardly sloping sides, one of said sidesbeing interrupted by a horizontal ledge-like shoulder and a verticalclamping portion immediately thereabove, a linearly straight billetsupporting arm pivoted at its proximate end to said casing at a regionadjacent to the upper region of said trough for swinging movement abouta horizontal axis which is disposed adjacent to the uppermost level ofthe trough, a linearly straight billet clamping arm pivoted at itsproximate end to said casing at a region below the lowermost level ofsaid trough for swinging movement about a horizontal axis, saidbillet-supporting arm being provided with a longitudinally extendingslot therein and said billet clamping arm normally projecting throughsaid slot, said arms being individually movable between normallyretracted positions wherein they underlie the trough and actuatedadvanced positions wherein they intersect the trough, said billetsupporting arm being operable upon actuating thereof to engage and raisethe billet in the trough to a level slightly above the level of saidhorizontal shoulder, said billet clamping arm being operable uponactuation thereof to engage the thus raised billet and clamp the same ina grinding position against said vertical clamping portion of said oneside of the trough above said ledge-like shoulder, and means forselectively actuating said arms , said means comprising a cylinder andplunger device for each arm, each device having one end pivotallyconnected to its respective arm at a point medially of its ends, andhaving its other end pivoted to the casing at a point below the level ofthe said trough.
 2. A billet manipulating unit for supporting andimparting increments of rotational movement to an elongated steel billetor the like which is of elongated rectangular shape in transverse crosssection so as to present broad and narrow sides, said unit comprising acasing defining an upwardly presented generally V-shaped trough at itsupper end for reception of the billet, said trough having downwardly andinwardly sloping sides, one of said sides being interrupted by ahorizontal ledge-like shoulder and a vertical clamping portionimmediately thereabove, a billet supporting arm pivoted to said casingfor swinging movement about a horizontal axis which is disposed adjacentto the uppermost level of the trough, a clamping protuberance on thedistal end of said supporting arm, a billet clamping arm pivoted to saidcasing for swinging movement about a horizontal axis which is disposedbelow the lowermost level of the trough, said arms being individuallymovable between normally retracted positions wherein they underlie thetrough and fully actuated advanced positions wherein they intersect thetrough, said billet supporting arm being operable upon a first fullactuation to engage and raise a billet above the level of said trough,said clamping arm being operable upon a first actuation to engage thethus raised billet and slide the same on said supporting arm and againstsaid protuberance in a First clamped broad side grinding position with acorner edge region of the billet overlying an edge of the trough, saidarms being effective upon partial retraction thereof to cause the billetto fall by gravity from said trough edge into said trough and rest onsaid supporting arm and against the clamping arm in a second and corneredge grinding position, said clamping arm being operable upon a secondactuation to engage the thus supported billet and project the same to athird clamped narrow side grinding position against said verticalclamping portion with a corner edge region of the billet overlying saidhorizontal ledge-like shoulder, said arms being effective upon fullretraction thereof to cause the billet to fall by gravity from saidledge-like shoulder into the bottom region of the trough and against theother inwardly sloping trough side in a fourth grinding position.
 3. Abillet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 2 and wherein saidclamping arm is provided at its distal end with a flat billet clampingshoulder which is engageable with the billet when the latter is in itsfirst and broad side clamped grinding position, and a hump-like clampingprotuberance immediately below said latter clamping shoulder which isengageable with a broad side of the billet when the latter is in itsthird and narrow side clamped grinding position.
 4. A billetmanipulating unit as set forth in claim 3 and wherein said clamping armis provided with a ledge-like billet supporting shoulder immediatelyabove said hump-like protuberance and immediately below said latterclamping shoulder.
 5. A billet manipulating unit as set forth in claim 4and wherein said casing includes a pair of vertically disposed sideplates between which said arms are disposed, one of said arms is formedwith a longitudinal slot therein, and the other arm projects through andis operable in said slot.
 6. A billet manipulating unit as set forth inclaim 5 and wherein said slot is provided in the billet supporting arm.